The Law School Admission Test (LSAT): A Comprehensive Guide

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a crucial step for anyone aspiring to attend law school. Designed specifically for law school admission, the LSAT evaluates essential skills and provides valuable insight into a candidate's readiness for the rigors of legal education. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the LSAT, covering its purpose, structure, administration, scoring, and preparation strategies.

Purpose and Importance of the LSAT

The LSAT is a standardized test required by all American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many other law schools as part of their admission process. While a growing number of law schools also accept the GRE, the LSAT remains a key factor in admission decisions. Law schools consider your LSAT score along with other components of your application, including your GPA, the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) application, letters of recommendation, and your personal statement. At many law schools, the LSAT score is weighted just as heavily, or even more heavily, than your undergraduate GPA.

Research consistently shows that the LSAT is the best single predictor of law school success. It enables schools to identify qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked based on undergraduate institution, GPA, extracurricular activities, or other factors. The LSAT assesses skills critical for success in the first year of law school, including reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning. The Law School Admission Test evaluates applicants in the areas of reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and logical analysis. The 3 hour exam is the single most important element in your application. The LSAT for law schools is much more important than the SAT or ACT is for undergraduate programs. At most law schools, your LSAT score is weighed more heavily than your GPA.

Furthermore, the LSAT helps prospective law students determine if law school is the right path for them. By exposing individuals to the type of reasoning and analysis required in legal studies, the LSAT provides a realistic preview of the challenges and demands of law school.

LSAT Structure and Components

The LSAT is structured in two parts: the multiple-choice test and LSAT Argumentative Writing.

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Multiple-Choice Sections

The first part is a proctored multiple-choice test consisting of four 35-minute sections. Three of these sections are scored, while one is unscored and used for validating new test questions for future use. The order in which the sections appear on the test is random, so test takers will not know which section is unscored. The unscored section can be either a Logical Reasoning or a Reading Comprehension section.

The multiple-choice portion of the LSAT includes three scored sections and one unscored section, which enables us to validate new test questions for future use. This validation process is a vital part of our commitment to fairness and helps ensure that our questions continue their long standard of being free from any kind of bias. The unscored section can be any one of the question types - Reading Comprehension or Logical Reasoning - and can occur at any point in the test. The vast majority of test takers can choose whether to take the multiple-choice LSAT in person or remotely - whichever option works best for them.

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school. These questions assess your ability to read and understand examples of long-form, complex materials which are similar to those that you’ll encounter in law school.

Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning questions assess your ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments. These questions assess your ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments.

LSAT Argumentative Writing

The second part of the LSAT is LSAT Argumentative Writing, a 50-minute, remotely proctored, on-demand writing exam. LSAT Argumentative Writing is included in the LSAT to give law school candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their persuasive writing skills. Although LSAT Argumentative Writing samples don’t receive a score, they are considered by law school admission committees when reviewing individuals’ applications. LSAT Argumentative Writing is administered using ProctorU’s secure proctoring software on your own computer. You are eligible to take LSAT Argumentative Writing starting eight (8) days prior to the LSAT test administration.

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As a part of the writing task, you will be presented with a debatable issue, along with three or four perspectives that provide additional context for the issue. You will then draft an argumentative essay in which you take a position on the issue, while addressing some of the arguments and ideas presented by the other perspectives. There are no “right” or “wrong” positions; the writing sample is designed to let you demonstrate your persuasive writing skills. Law schools will examine the reasoning, clarity, organization, language usage, and writing mechanics you display in your sample.

LSAT Administration

The LSAT is administered via Prometric in two ways: remotely (online with a remote proctor) or in person (at a Prometric testing center). Both options are available for the vast majority of test takers, so each test taker can choose the option that works best for them. LSAC will continue to offer the LSAT in a live, remotely proctored environment for the 2025-2026 testing cycle.

LSAC is committed to ensuring the LSAT is designed to assess the skills essential to success in the first year of law school. They conduct studies to ensure the LSAT is focused on the right skills. The law school faculty members who participate in these studies consistently rate the skills assessed by the LSAT as those critical for success in law school.

Through our deep commitment to disability rights, LSAC continues to address the needs of all individuals with disabilities who require testing accommodations, regardless of which testing option they choose. LSAC will continue to offer test takers the option to take the LSAT at a digital test center for the 2025-2026 testing cycle. Whether you choose to take your LSAT in person at a test center or remotely on your own computer, we will make every effort to ensure test takers are able to fully demonstrate their skills when they take their test.

LSAT Scoring

The LSAT is scored on a scale of 120 to 180 points. The multiple-choice sections contribute to the overall LSAT score, while the LSAT Argumentative Writing sample is not scored but is reviewed by law school admission committees. Because most top law schools average multiple LSAT scores, it's best to prepare as thoroughly as possible and only take the test once.

A "good" LSAT score varies from school to school. In general, a score at or above a school's median LSAT is considered competitive. While the national average score is around a 152, a competitive score varies from school to school for the purposes of admission. In general, a score at or above a school's median LSAT is considered competitive.

LSAT Format Changes

Starting in August 2024, the LSAT will be changing its format. The LSAT will continue to have four 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions, but will transition to having two Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension section, plus one unscored Reading Comprehension or Logical Reasoning section.

Starting in August 2024, the writing section of the LSAT will be changing as well. The new LSAT writing section will continue to be unscored for the 2024-2025 cycle, though test takers will now receive a total of 50-minutes to complete their writing sample. In this 50-minute time period, test takers will have 15-minutes for prewriting analysis and 35-minutes for essay writing. The new writing format aims to assess test taker’s ability to construct a cogent argument based on a variety of evidentiary sources. Test takers will be presented with a debatable issue along with different perspectives that provide additional context. These perspectives, each of which is conveyed in a few sentences, are representative of a system of beliefs or values. Together, the perspectives illustrate competing ideologies and arguments around a particular issue. The test taker will then draft an argumentative essay in which they take a position, while addressing some of the arguments and ideas presented by the other perspectives.

Despite the changes coming to the LSAT in August 2024, the LSAT will continue to measure the reasoning, reading comprehension, and writing skills that are essential for success in law school and the practice of law.

LSAT Registration and Fees

LSAT registration deadlines are typically one month before the LSAT test date. You can register online at lsac.org. It costs $248 to take the LSAT. In addition, subscription to the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) is required for application for most law schools. This subscription costs $215 and score reports are $45 each.

LSAT Preparation Strategies

Effective preparation is crucial for achieving a competitive LSAT score. Applicants should expect to prepare for the exam for at least three to four months in advance of the test date, or more depending on how busy their schedule is. The sooner you begin to familiarize yourself with this exam, the better. One element of preparation should be to take actual past exams under strictly timed conditions.

Here are some key strategies for LSAT preparation:

Familiarize yourself with the test format: Understand the structure, question types, and timing of each section. You should be so familiar with the instructions and question types that nothing you see on the test can delay or distract you from thinking about how to answer a question. At a minimum, you should review the descriptions of the question types and simulate the day of the test by taking a practice test that includes a writing sample under actual time constraints.
Take practice tests: Taking practice tests is the best way to prepare for test day. Take a timed practice LSAT test early on to see how much work lies ahead, and find out if one section is weaker that the others. Don’t worry about preparing before taking your first diagnostic exam, and don’t be surprised if your first score is low. In general, the more practice exams you can take under proctored, test-like conditions, the better.
Utilize official LSAT prep materials: The LSAC offers free LSAT prep material and a subscription service to a large library of past exams. You can get started with the free Official LSAT PrepTests® available in your LawHub account, or upgrade to LawHub Advantage, which includes an extensive library of full, official LSAT sample tests. You may also purchase additional LSAT preparation materials.
Identify and address weaknesses: Analyze your performance on practice tests to identify areas where you need improvement. Focus your study efforts on strengthening those areas.
Simulate test-day conditions: Practice taking the LSAT under timed conditions and in a quiet, distraction-free environment. This will help you build stamina and get accustomed to the pressure of the actual test.
Consider a prep course: While many students benefit from commercial courses, many do just as well on their own. Diagnostic testing can be stressful, and your score will likely be low, especially if you have not prepared much beforehand. In other words, at the conclusion of the test you might be especially vulnerable to a persuasive sales pitch. We suggest you take your time and not decide on the spot.

When to Take the LSAT

Take the LSAT only when you are ready. In deciding, consider when you plan to apply. Virtually every law school has a "rolling admissions" policy, which means they begin admitting applicants long before the deadline to apply. We recommend that you try to apply by January 1 the year you plan to start law school. The LSAT is usually offered 8-9 times throughout the year. Many students choose to take exam the summer before senior year if they are planning to start law school right after graduation. September-November exams are fine, and will give you enough time to submit application material by November or December. Consider well in advance the time needed to train for the exam, which can be like adding an intense competitive extracurricular activity or 4-credit independent study course to your schedule. Schedule your LSAT test early enough that your scores will be available by your first law school application deadline. You can confirm each law program's admission policies in our law school profiles.

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